How I Found My Way As A Makeup Artist In Youngstown Ohio

I Didn't Start With a Brand. I Started With a Brush.

Before there was SMACKbyKarisa…

Before there were products, formulas, packaging, online orders, makeup classes, e-commerce, and a brand that would continue evolving in ways I never could have imagined…

There was a brush.

And, honestly, there was a girl who always knew she wanted to do something with beauty. I just didn't know exactly what that would look like yet.

It Started at Casal Aveda Institute

My journey into beauty began at Casal Aveda. I went to school to become an esthetician, and during that time, I started learning the foundation of what would become my career: skincare, beauty, artistry, and the science behind it all.

Looking back, I don't think I fully understood then how much that education would shape everything I would eventually do.

I wasn't just learning how to apply makeup or perform skincare services. I was learning how to see people.

I was learning about skin, texture, color, balance, and the little details that can make someone feel completely different when they look in the mirror.

And somewhere along the way, I started realizing that I wanted more.

A Little Side Story About My Husband

Before I get too far into my career story, I have to tell you something funny.

I met my husband when I was 17.

And technically, I wasn't even there for him.

I danced competitively with his prom date.

I had done her makeup and lashes, dropped her off, and this guy ended up getting my phone number in June of 2018.

Life is funny like that.

You never really know which moments are going to become important later. Sometimes the person you meet at 17 becomes the person you build a life with. Sometimes the little decisions you make early on eventually lead you somewhere you never expected.

And that has pretty much been the theme of my entire life and career.

Finding My Way

After starting school, life didn't always go exactly as planned.

I experienced some personal challenges and ultimately left The Art Institute of Pittsburgh for Fashion School after about nine months. I worked two jobs while continuing to figure out what was next for me.

I graduated Casals Institute in 2011.

At that point, I was ready to work!

I worked at Forever 21, Caleena Fine Jewelers, and Salon Ruberto as an esthetician.

I was good at what I did.

But I also knew myself well enough to know that I needed more.

I wanted to learn more. I wanted to create more. I wanted to build something that felt like mine.

So in 2012, I flew to Florida and became licensed in permanent makeup.

That trip was a turning point for me.

I came home with a new skill, a new perspective, and a growing belief that I could create a career around the things I loved most: beauty, artistry, precision, and helping people feel confident.

I began growing my work in permanent makeup while also building my experience as a makeup artist.

I started specializing in eyebrow waxing and airbrush makeup, and slowly, my career began to take shape.

The Makeup Room

In 2013, I moved into a smaller salon space with my own makeup room suite.

At the time, it felt like a big step.

It was my space. My little corner. A place where I could create, work with clients, and continue building something that was becoming bigger than I had originally imagined.

And then, in 2014, everything started to take off.

That was the year I launched SMACK.

At the time, I didn't know exactly what SMACK would eventually become.

I just knew that I had ideas.

I loved beauty. I loved creating. I loved makeup. I loved color.

And I wanted to build something that felt like me.

SMACK started as an idea, but it quickly became so much more.

By 2015, the business was growing so much that we moved into a larger salon space.

It was technically the same salon—but we had simply grown into something bigger.

More people. More space. More clients. More opportunities.

The business was growing because I was growing.

Then Life Got Really Full

In 2015, I got married.

In 2016, I had a baby.

And in 2017, I found out I was pregnant with twins.

As if having twins wasn't enough of a life change, I also broke my leg.

For a while, I couldn't drive.

So I worked from home.

And when I say I worked from home, I mean I really worked from home.

I had brides who had booked me nearly two years in advance, and those brides were important to me.

So I figured it out.

I got dropped off.

I worked from home with my kids in a playpen... literally LOL!

And somehow, even with a broken leg, babies, pregnancy, and everything else happening in my life, I still had all the energy I needed for my brides.

Because when someone has trusted you with one of the most important days of their life, you show up.

I continued working from home and catering to my clients until 2020.

And by then, my basement was no longer just a place where I worked.

I was outgrowing it.

Then the World Changed

COVID changed everything.

For everyone.

And for me, it became a turning point in my business.

By the time the world began moving forward again, I had spent years building my career as a makeup artist, esthetician, permanent makeup artist, and business owner.

The beauty industry had changed.

The way people shopped had changed.

And SMACK had to change, too.

I was no longer just a makeup artist with a brush in my hand.

I had spent years learning about beauty from every angle: working with skin, working with color, working with clients, creating makeup looks, mixing products, and understanding what people actually wanted to use.

I was not going to let the mask take everything I had learned and built away from me.